Mauricio Pochettino feels ‘really sad’ seeing Tottenham fight against relegation
By Ian Parker, Press Association
Mauricio Pochettino has said he feels “really sad” watching his former club Tottenham stuck in a fight against relegation from the Premier League.
Pochettino guided Spurs to a second-placed finish in the league in 2016-17 and reached the Champions League final in 2019 during a five-year spell in north London.
But it is a radically different picture now for Spurs, who sit 18th, two points from safety with four league games remaining.
Appearing on the The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Pochettino said: “It’s really sad, I really love Tottenham, it’s going to be a part of my life, an important part of my life as a coach, my personal life too.
“It’s really sad because I know how the people are suffering there, inside the club and also the fans. It’s difficult to accept.”
Pochettino’s time at the club coincided with the building of the club’s current stadium and training ground, a period which saw them playing ‘home’ games at Wembley while transfer funds were limited given the investment elsewhere.
Pochettino named Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum as two players he had wanted to sign for the club, but instead they both joined Liverpool and were part of the side that beat Spurs 2-0 in the Champions League final.
“It’s a shame,” Pochettino added. “We were winning every season because with all the circumstances that we were fighting, we spent 18 months with not one signing. That was a record in the Premier League.
“We had money to spend but not the type of money to improve, to be close to win or to challenge. We challenged, we challenged to win. But we missed this last step.”
Five months after the Champions League final, Pochettino was sacked by then Spurs chairman Daniel Levy following a poor start to the season, replaced by Jose Mourinho.
After a short spell with Paris St Germain, Pochettino returned to the Premier League as Chelsea head coach in May 2023.
But 12 months later he was dismissed after a sixth-placed finish – experiencing what has continued to be a regular churn of managers hired and fired by Chelsea owners BlueCo, who have just sacked Liam Rosenior after only 23 games in charge.
Asked if the club was as chaotic as it appears, Pochettino said of BlueCo: “I think they have a plan. Maybe it is completely different than it was in the past with (former owner Roman) Abramovich. It’s true it’s not easy for people to understand…I think they need to explain the plan.”
Pochettino is now preparing to lead the United States into this summer’s World Cup, where they will be co-hosts alongside Mexico and Canada, but the 54-year-old indicated he would like to work in the Premier League again in the future.
“One day yes, because I really like England,” he said. “I think my profile – my human profile and my coaching profile – match very well with the Premier League.”
